Here's how you can achieve a healthy work-life balance from the start of your teaching career.

Work for an institution that prioritizes employees' well-being in policy AND practice. Without that, you'll have difficulty ever achieving work-life harmony.

Time-blocking strategies; using Priority matrices, removing distractions are some strategies that help to make you super efficient at the workplace ; thus helping to achieve more in less time. Again, a balancing act requires too much effort, practice and resources. I would recommend working towards achieving ‘ work-life harmony’

The most important advice I always give new teachers is: "There is no such thing as FREE time. Any free time you have will be sucked up a task or a distraction. The secret is to MAKE time." Teaching can suck up all your free time if you don't make time for other life activities. Learn to make time. The other advice is to avoid vampires, specifically Time Vampires. These are people — family, coworkers, or friends — who suck your time away doing things that benefit them and not you. In short, make time, avoid vampires :-)

Achieving a healthy work-life balance from the start of your teaching career requires setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care. Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time, scheduling dedicated time for relaxation and hobbies. Learn to say no to additional responsibilities or tasks that may overwhelm you. Prioritize tasks and delegate when possible to manage workload effectively. Practice mindfulness and self-reflection to identify signs of burnout and take proactive steps to address them. By prioritizing your well-being from the outset, you can maintain balance and longevity in your teaching career.

Priotizing time is important to a healthy work and personal life balance. There is a need to let work time be work time, and personal life time be your time. Try as much as possible for the two not to be in conflict. At times you may work extra at work, it is understandable, but never let it be the usual. Once at home, switch off from work mode to relaxation or hone mode.

Setting boundaries is critical for first year teachers and and school leaders. The responsibilities of begin and educator is never ending, thus making new teachers and leaders feel they have to blend work and home lives. As a school leader, I tend to force my new teachers to leave their computer at school one day a week. I personally went through this approach and found that one day of leaving work at work, made me a better educator, husband, son, and overall happier person.

From the first day, boundaries need be set. There is a need to know what the goal is, how to achieve it and things how not to. What is acceptable should be clearly known and be conscious of it. Try as much as you can, to set boundaries between work and home. The home should not be an extension of work. If there are needs to to work at home, let your family be accommodated in your plan. Find a way to ensure they feel your presence while at home working.

As an acupuncturist and coach, I couldn’t agree more. For many of our beautifully giving teachers, it might feel like pampering to do the daily practices that keep our bodies, minds and hearts open and resilient and ready. But those are the things that allow us to make micro adjustments along the way, saving us the collision with crisis that ends up being more intense, and expensive in all the ways. So if it feels challenging to establish those practices, it’s worth checking in with your mindset and context. You deserve a full cup from which to pour. And thank you for taking care of our precious kids every day, so much love for that ????

Self-care can not ne over emphasised. It is the bedrock to a fulling career. There is an adage which says 'the lifespan of a workplace is longer than that life span of an individual ', this means you cannot do everything. There is a need to take care of oneself, your health is of outmost importance. It is a good health which makes it possible for you to work in the first place, so why not take care if your health? Eat well, the profession requires a lot of energy. Drink a lot of water and sleep well. Go for medical check up periodically.

Delegating tasks is a smart way of achieving more with lesser stress. You can not be everywhere, and cannot do all things. This you should realise. There is what is called team work, which means together everyone achieved more. The focus is getting the work done in time, effectively and efficiently without casualty. To delegate duties, look for the best hands, those capable and give them responsibilities, assignments and tasks. It is understandable that you may be skeptical or not trusting them totally to get the work done, the way you want. With time they will grow and be what you are or more and thereby having multiple and progressive result. It is advisable to train and retrain staff to achieve the said purpose.